Ou (Rowen) Jin

Hometown: Fremont, Ca.High School: Washington High SchoolMajor: BiologyHonors minor: English literaturePossible Career: Doctor, with a focus on international development

Rowen graduated in December 2011 with a degree in biology. She entered Swarthmore hoping to make the world a happier place by pursuing a degree in psychiatry. Over the years, her path to that goal has changed, but the goal remains the same.

In the three and a half years from freshman to senior year, Rowen's main career interests have evolved from medical research to public health, although it still centers around medicine. As a researcher, Rowen has worked at various institutions including UCSF, University of Edinburgh, and both the Chemistry and Biology departments at Swarthmore College. Her research interests have mainly involved glucocorticoids (the stress hormone) and the brain. She currently has one publication and is now working on a second manuscript. Her medical interests have led her to various externships with doctors of different specialties. However, it was her social interests that led her to volunteer in Haiti and Peru this past summer, where she gained a new direction in life. She hopes to pursue her interests in medicine, development, and public health by seeking out every possible opportunity to gain a better understanding of what makes for effective aid efforts.

She will be returning to Haiti and the Dominican Republic in spring 2012 to work with World Water Relief in conducting community health assessments and in establishing water quality monitoring systems.

During her leisure time at Swarthmore, Rowen has been active in organizing the Capoeira Club and Coalition for Haiti. She has also participated to a lesser extent in various other organizations, notably Philly Restart (a homeless program), Dare to Soar (a program for underprivilaged children in Chester, PA), Expanding your Horizons (a science conference in the spring for 7th and 8th graders), Jefferson Hospice (as a volunteer), Swarthmore Fire Department (as an EMT), and Earthlust (the on-campus environment club). When time permits, she also enjoys embarrassing herself in front of native Spanish speakers, writing grammatically incorrect sentences and painting monochromatic pictures.

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